CHILD SOLDIERS“Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of

the soul”- Dave Pelzer

FAST FACTS• It is estimated that 300,000 children are fighting in wars

all over the world.• 20% -25% of child soldiers are girls.• Evidence suggests that child soldiers are active in at least

14 countries, major ones are: Afghanistan, Burma, Colombia, India, Iraq, Philippines and Thailand.

• People use child soldiers because children are more easily manipulated than adult fighters; they don’t need to get paid; they don’t have a highly developed sense of danger, making it all too easy to send them into the line of fire; and they also require less food supply.

• Many child soldiers are recruited by force – stolen from their families and forced to fight. In some cases children are made to kill their relatives so they can never return home.

FAST FACTS

• Some child soldiers join voluntarily, driven by poverty and the hope of a regular meal.

• Child soldiers are not just fighters, they can also be cooks, suicide bombers, human shields, messengers, spies, or for sexual purposes.

• Some child soldiers are under the age of 10.• Since 1998, over 100,000 child soldiers have been

released from armed groups and reintegrated into their communities.

• February 12 is Red Hand Day, a day of commemoration, protest and campaigning across the world to draw attention to the plight of child soldiers.

WHY CHILDREN?• Child soldiers are any children under

the age of 18 who are recited by a state or non state armed group and used for the following proposes: Fighters, Cooks, Suicide Bombers, Human Shields, Messengers, Spies and Sexual Purposes. Children as you can imagine are very easy targets for abduction and bribery.

WHY DO THEY DO IT?

• Some children living in poor and underprivileged areas opt into becoming a soldier, as they are guaranteed a meal at the end of the day. This bribery forces children and their families into a life of crime and war. This is the biggest sort of recruitment for defense force groups.

When you think war or fighting, you automatically think boys. Unfortunately this isn’t the case as young girls younger than 10 are forced into a life of war and horror. It is estimated that 20 – 25 percent of child soldiers are girls under the age of 15. They are particularly vulnerable when it comes to sexual violence.

WHAT WE CAN DO?

• ‘Child Soldiers International’ is an international human rights research and support organisation. They seek to end the military recruitment and the use in warfare of underage recruitments, hence child soldiers. They advocate for the release of illegally recruited children, promote their successful recovery and helpful programs they offor into civilian life, and call for accountability for those who unlawfully recruit or use them.

Would You Commit or Give Into A Life of WAR?

WONDER About How She Is FEELING?

How Would You Feel If You Were HER?